Saint Deiniol (died 572) was traditionally the first
Bishop of Bangor in the
Kingdom of Gwynedd,
Wales. The present
Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Bangor) is a cathedral in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Saint Deiniol.
The site of the present building of Bangor Cathedral has been in use as a place of Christian worship since ...
, dedicated to Deiniol, is said to be on the site where his
monastery stood. He is
venerated in
Brittany as Saint Denoual. In
English and Latin his name is sometimes rendered as Daniel.
Life
According to a Latin ''Life of Deiniol'', preserved in Peniarth MS226 and transcribed in 1602 by Sir Thomas Williams of Trefriw, he was the son of Abbot
Dunod Fawr, son of
Pabo Post Prydain. The family, having lost their land in the
North of England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
, were given land by the king of
Powys,
Cyngen Glodrydd
Cyngen Glodrydd was an early 6th-century King of Powys. He was a descendant of King Cadell Ddyrnllwg
Cadell Ddyrnllwg (Welsh for "Cadell of the Gleaming Hilt"; born c. AD 430) was a mid-5th century King of Powys.
Cadell appears to have been ...
.
Deiniol embraced the religious life and is said to have studied under
Cadoc of
Llancarfan. Sir David Trevor describes Deiniol as one of the seven blessed cousins who had spent part of his early life as a hermit "on the arm of Pembrokeshire" but was called to be a bishop despite deficiencies in his formal education. Deiniol soon left Powys for Gwynedd where he founded the monastery of
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor (; ) is a cathedral city and community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated ...
under the patronage of
Maelgwn Gwynedd who endowed it with lands and privileges, later raising it to the rank of the official seat of a bishop, sharing a common boundary with the principality of Gwynedd. Deiniol is said to have been consecrated to that See by St.
Dubricius in the year 516. Deiniol spent the remainder of his days there as Abbot and Bishop.
He attended the
Synod of Llanddewi Brefi
The Synod of Brefi was a church council held at Llanddewi Brefi in Ceredigion, Wales, around 545.
The synod was apparently called in order to condemn the heretical teachings of Pelagius. It was an important milestone in the rise of Saint Da ...
in c. 545 with
Saint David
Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail ab ...
when the subject of rules for penance was being discussed. According to the ''
Annales Cambriae'' Deiniol died in 584 and was buried on
Bardsey Island. It is possible that this date, like the dates given for the deaths of David and Kentigern, is twelve years later than it should be, in which case the correct date is 572.
in Bangor is dedicated in his name.
Legacy
His cult in North Wales was quite extensive and several churches are dedicated to him, including Worthenbury near Wrexham and
Hawarden, Flintshire in the north of Wales (as well as other churches in Flintshire). There are also dedicated churches at Llangarron, Llanfor, Llanuwchllyn, Eyton, and Itton; near Cardigan Bay there is a village of Llandeiniol - "parish of St Deniol" - which was once the name of Itton.
The church of
Marchwiel is dedicated to Deiniol and there are also dedications at
Itton in
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
and
Llangarron in
Herefordshire.
William Ewart Gladstone dedicated
St Deiniol's Library
Gladstone's Library, known until 2010 as St Deiniol's Library ( cy, Llyfrgell Deiniol Sant), is a residential library in Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales. It is a Grade I listed building and a registered charity.
Gladstone's Library is Britain's ...
, a residential library in
Hawarden, Flintshire, for arts students, in 1896.
In the current
Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for Wales and that of the Anglican
Church in Wales, he is commemorated on the traditional date of 11 September.
His name has been given to the Deiniol Centre, a shopping centre in Bangor.
He may be referenced in the name of the hymn tune, ST. DENIO ("Immortal, invisible")
References
Sources
*S. Baring-Gould and John Fisher. (1908). ''The Lives of British Saints''
*C.J. Clark. ''The Saints of Wales and Cornwall and such Irish Saints as have dedications in Britain''
Further reading
*
External links
"The Life of St. Deiniol", Peniarth MS. 225 (1602), p. 155.
{{Authority control
584 deaths
Bishops of Bangor
Medieval Welsh saints
6th-century Welsh bishops
6th-century Christian saints
Year of birth unknown